THE VALUE OF COLLEGE EDUCATION FOR URBAN LATINO STUDENTS 1

The Value of College Education for Urban Latino Students

Yessy Ortiz

Los Angeles Leadership Academy

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Abstract

Education plays a very important role these days and more even with the remarkable

increase in population. Hispanic or Latinos are decent and they have more difficulty to attend

college, either because of their economic or migratory status. The majority of Latinos or

Hispanics only manage to finish high school and unfortunately drop out of school and begin

working due to the tradition of their culture. Latinos manage to finish their studies and they play

a very important role, among Latinos they finish their university studies and do so much

improvement in economy of the country in the side that community is criticized, thus giving an

impact in the society.

Keywords: Economics, discrimination, education, scholarship, latinos, hispanics,

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The Value of College Education for Urban Latino Students

College education in an urban latino community that is not very common and difficult in

the society in this time. It is very unusual that a Hispanic attends college and when they do it can

be more difficult for them if they are first generation. In the article by Cabrera (1999) Moreno

was quoted to say a lot of students are not encouraged by their families to go to college and they

think that to graduate from high school is enough. The adversities that every Hispanic faces

with when making the decision whether to go to school or not are many suggestion. The most

common concerns they face are how they pay the monthly tuition fees in school if their family

has low income and does not have enough to pay for school. They also may think if they will

have the necessary level of english as their second language . Furthermore, Hispanic students

may feel discriminated and not being accepted as any regular student who was born here due to

their different nationalities when they go to college.

However in Hispanic culture it is very normal for young Latinos to only do high school

and follow the same role as their parents. It is like a cycle that is repeated over and over again in

all Latino families. Since young people leave high school without finishing, they dedicate

themselves to work like all the other young hispanics that they see without having a vision for

their future that can go beyond, and realize that it is a common thing that is done in their culture.

Without them grasping that there are many opportunities to attend different schools. They put the

barriers and excuses on themselves. Today there are many ways to attend school and there

shouldnt be any excuses, regardless of your nationality or economic status.

Impacto social/ Social impact.

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When a Hispanic attends school it has an impact in the community because few Latinos

are able to finish school and the number of those who attend schools are very low. The

percentage of Hispanics increased in the past years "there is a large increase from 1972 to 2010,

the percentage of Hispanics attending school continues to be low, with 68 percent of Hispanics

enrolling in college. (Greenwood, 2012). However, the percentage of Hispanic students

attending college is still very low and does not make an impact in the community in this days.

If more Latinos attend college they would not only improve the United States economy,

they also mark an impact on the community by placing the Hispanic or Latino community as a

strong pillar in the United States, contributing much in the economy and rates of education.With

all of that improvement, you would think Latino students would be in good shape. (Azziz,

2017). Latino community with education can make a big impact in the society in on the areas

most in them in economic.

Estado econmico/ Economic Status

Some of the causes why Latinos do not attend school is because their family has low

income and can not afford to pay for their children's school. In other cultures and communities,

families can afford to pay them for college because they have more money and better

opportunities compared to a Latino family. It becomes harder as a Hispanic or Latino to earn

large amounts of money or the money needed to pay for a college . The young does is better to

work and contribute with household expenses taking that role in the family.
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On the other hand, there are now many programs that help Latino students and also, in

general, with financial aid. Also extra classes to improve your progress in college so that

students are not failing their classes.

Dificultad de nivel de ingles / Difficulty in English Levels

Hispanics also do not want to attend college because of their level of English. Since they

do not have the same ability in English compared to the other young people who all the time

lived in this country and despite that many still do not know perfectly. Additionally there are

many programs that specialize in helping Latinos in different ranks. One of them is in their level

of English, providing classes for Latin students to improve their English and have a progress that

will help them to better understand each class for do not reprove their classes. According to

Ramos (2014) Today, many community colleges offer special programs that help Hispanic

students. These range from intensive classes to help them improve their English, to centers that

teach them how to apply for nonconventional forms of tuition assistance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many ways in which a Latino can attend a higher education.

There are foundations that help Hispanic students with financial aid with transportation, the

materials they need in their classes. They offer you English courses to improve your level. There

are many opportunities and there are no excuses for not attending school. The higher the

percentage of enrolled Latinos in college , the higher chance of breaking the typical stereotype.
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Resources

Azziz, Ricardo. (2017). Us Edition.The State of Latinos in U.S. Higher Education. Received

From

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-ricardo-azziz/the-state-of-latinos-in-higher-education

B_7595590.html

Cabrera, Claudia. (1999). Silver International, Montgomery Blair H.S., Silver Spring, MD

USA.Why Don't More Hispanics Go to College?. Received from

http://silverinternational.mbhs.edu/v131/i101hispanics.htm

Cervantes Gomez, Andrea. (2010). McNair Scholars Journal. Breaking Stereotypes by Obtaining

a Higher Education:Latinas' Family Values and Tradition on the School Institution.

Volume 13| Issue 1 .Received

from

http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair/vol14/iss1/4/

Fry, Richard. (2002). Latinos in Higher Education: Many Enroll, Too Few Graduate. How Many

Latinos Attend College?.Received from

http://files.eric.ed.ygov/fulltext/ED468848.pdf

Greenwood, Kimberly Faculty Advisor Ashton-Savage, Audrey. (2012). The University of New

Hampshire Whittemore. School of Business and Economics. Higher Education

Marketing to the Hispanic Student Population. Received from

http://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=honors
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Ramos, Jairo. (2014). Code Switch. Hispanics Struggle To Graduate: An Issue of School

Choice?. Received from

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/03/03/283089708/hispanics-struggle-to-gra

duate-an-issue-of-school-choice